During the past seven months, I posed the question to numerous Baseball Analysts of who should replace Andy MacPhail, should MacPhail not return for 2012. The full responses of those Analysts can be found at: https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=3052
In one of those responses, Dan Szymborski (ESPN / Baseball Think Factory) closed by stating, “…The Orioles being a good team again is more reliant on a change in how the organization is run from the very top rather than who the next GM will be.”
In the hierarchy of a Major League Baseball team, the only one above a General Manager / President of Baseball Operations is the Owner. Baltimore’s Majority Owner Peter Angelos has been the constant over the last 14 years of losing. Since his first full-year of Ownership in ’94, the O’s have had just 3 winning seasons. If you believe effective and ineffective organizations start at the top, Angelos absolutely has to bear as much responsibility as anyone for the problems that have plagued the franchise during his tenure.
There have been plenty of issues outside the white-lines since ’94 which could be discussed. I don’t see the point in rehashing them here, as they can not be changed. I could just as easily discuss Angelos’ significant philanthropic endeavors, but they are also not relevant to this discussion. What we are discussing here, is Baseball alone. Particularly the idea that many O’s fans believe that the situation here in Baltimore will remain hopeless until there is a a change in Ownership. Due to that mentality, you have people who believe the hiring of MacPhail’s replacement is an irrelevant topic.
That line of thinking leads me to three consistently heard cliches. 1) A leopard never changes their spots. 2) If you don’t know your history, you are doomed to repeat it. 3) The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.
Do you believe these to be true? I think trans-formative change in people is very difficult to occur. Peter Angelos did not become Owner of the Baltimore Orioles without being supremely successful in his other endeavors. Though it is clear that the traits which allowed him to become a prominent Attorney, with a thriving Practice; have obviously not translated into being a winning owner. When you have achieved what Angelos has achieved, there has to be an abundance of ego which tells him he always knows best. Will that ego and stubbornness ever subside and allow change to take place? Probably not, those spots will most-likely remain.
However, I am not willing to totally discount that at some point, Angelos will review his history of Ownership and change the processes which have consistently been in-place. You don’t achieve what Angelos has achieved without being intelligent. At some point you would think the ego would subside, the stubbornness would ease; and that there would be a willingness to try walking a new path. Even George Steinbrenner changed some, after being reinstated to baseball in 1993. Has the passing of that contemporary changed the philosophies or beliefs of Angelos at all? If it has, it needs to be shown in the hiring of this GM.
The most cynical of you that are reading this, will point to dollars and cents. My retort to that, is if even if everything comes down to dollars and cents; the Orioles would be far more profitable and maximizing their potential revenue streams if the O’s were winning games on the field.
Angelos did not buy the Orioles with the intention of becoming public villain number one. The losing, again of which he is chiefly responsible for, has to have left him isolated. The story of Angelos being a former Golden Gloves level boxer has been told plenty of times. I picture a man that has been beaten back into a corner, and is unwilling or unsure if he should punch back. I picture a man that looks back into his corner, and sees nobody there around him. I think that plays into his mentality of going it alone, and basically being willing to only trust himself. Of course, it has been reported that Angelos regularly dines with Ripken, and Showalter. Perhaps those are signs of Angelos wanting to extend his circle, and garner thoughts outside of his own, of what will actually be required to change the organization. One would have to believe that Ripken has reminded Angelos that further internal investment is required. While the financial inequities of the Orioles as compared to Yankees, and Red Sox are huge; the results of Tampa Bay the last four years illustrate that it is possible to be competitive in the American League East with far less resources. You would also have to think that Showalter has indicated to Angelos that the $85M in 2011 team salary could have been allocated better. It is also not hard to believe that Showalter has promised ‘x’ results if certain players are obtained. Or perhaps more accurately, that the on-field results will not change until the practices behind the scenes do.
I think it is good that Angelos reaches out to Ripken, and Showalter. To me though, the initial rumors of Showalter ascending to the GM position, or the current thought process that it will essentially be Showalter alone making the hire; are signs that a flawed organization remains. I’m in full alignment with anyone that says effective communication between the GM and the Manager is needed. Clearly that duo needs to be on the same page when putting a roster together. By definition a Manager will typically have a much more narrow view, as their focus tends to be solely on immediate on-field results. A GM often has to look at a bigger picturing determining what is best for the franchise long-term. You need someone that can lead and hire for multiple departments (Amateur Scouting, International Scouting, Pro Scouting, Player Development, with many teams effectively also housing ‘Sabermetric’ departments). Ideally you would like someone running Baseball Operations that has had experience with more than one of those departments previously. Just like you need a GM that can converse positively with the Manager, they also need to be able to work with each of those Department heads, and have everyone within the organization pointing the same way. Obviously all teams will employ someone like Russell Smouse as General Counsel, and a Matt Klentak who has a background that will help in contract negotiation. You also need someone with the skills to speak to the Press and handle those relationships. Beyond those abilities, a paramount need in Baltimore is for the GM to be able to work with Ownership directly. Or more to the point, having Angelos’ trust.
I could see where some would interpret that as me saying that Angelos is a micro-manager, but that is not my contention. I worked for the O’s in a very minimal capacity in the early 2000s. Despite my middling job, I knew a lot of the internal Management. What I saw was an organization that was not being micro-managed, but without any effective leadership from the very top. At the time, Mr. Angelos was visiting his office at Camden Yards, perhaps once or twice a year. (I’ve been told that has not changed in the interim.) Consumed with his Law Practice, Angelos does not project a vested interest in the day to day operations of the Orioles. I’m not advocating for a return to the days when Angelos was overriding trades (Wells, Bonilla in ’96 with Gillick – or even in the Flanagan / Duquette era with Roberts and Atlanta). What I am suggesting is that you can see a parallel between the problems of the internal departments (Sales, Community Relations, etc.) and the Baseball Operations Department. Angelos has had a history of placing people in positions of authority, but been unwilling to give those people the responsibility for making ultimate decisions on their own. That unwillingness to trust the people he has hired, has been compounded by being unresponsive or unable to provide decisions and feed-back in a timely fashion.
Is this going to change? Again, history dictates that it will not. Again though, I remain hopeful that that the organization will try something new, and see if that produces differing results.
If Angelos would promote Showalter to GM, and be willing to give Showalter a set budget that he was free to make moves from, I would support that as opposed to Showalter making the GM hire from the Manager position. At-least in that scenario, you would have someone in place with true baseball acumen capable of operating independently. You would also avoid the mistake of allowing a subordinate being able to hire their superior.
However, there is a far better move to be made. Angelos has the opportunity right now to show the Orioles fan-base that he is serious about changing the course of this Franchise, and that the hire does matter. The way that can be accomplished is by having a comprehensive search for MacPhail’s replacement, not letting the hiring be made by Showalter, and by giving the hire the ability to make the changes they deem fit.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.